Ian Berry Exhibit Gets Extended Post-Lockdown Run
This past year, everyone has spent more time alone huddled in their homes. For U.K.-based artist Ian Berry, this sheltering in place has become inspiration for pieces that capture the Covid experience.
Ian, whose chosen medium is denim, is used to creating “blue” art. But his usual subject matter of isolation took on a different meaning as seclusion became a shared global experience. “My work’s always been about isolation,” said Ian. “This year it became something quite different.”
The artist’s first solo show in the Netherlands, titled “Splendid Isolation,” includes more than 25 works from the past decade, with the newest pieces finished just before the exhibit opening. Housed at Museum Rijswijk, the show originally opened Dec. 1 to a local audience. But soon after the exhibit debuted, the museum had to close for months for health precautions. Now, as restrictions are easing, the show reopened in June, and it has been extended until Aug. 15.
Ian’s work uses denim to create intricate scenes. Along with pieces that look like paintings from a distance, some of his recent work includes 3D recreations of houseplants, records and furniture. With his typical travel out of the picture, the artist had more time to explore his surroundings. “There’s always this psychology that I’ve always got to go somewhere else,” explained Ian. “And during lockdown I realized more what was around me.”
Other lockdown-era pieces include “Stay Behind Closed Doors,” which features pandemic time portraits sourced via an open call that were lasered onto denim by Tonello. The museum is also showing Ian’s “I Clap For” hands, which were made to celebrate essential workers and became a global movement of appreciation and support.
Ian uses elements of jeans—including belt loops and side seams—to achieve his desired texture. “Ian has the details in everything, and you can see the layers that he has created in order to give the dimension to the painting and really bring it to life,” said Tricia Carey of Lenzing. “And I think for so many of us, the color blue means so many things and dimensions in our own life.”
Tricia caught up with Ian to get a virtual sneak peek of the exhibit when it opened. Check out the video below, but if possible, get to the museum to see the pieces in person.
“If I had a euro for every single time someone said, ‘Oh my god, it’s so much better in real life,’ I would be so much richer than selling the work,” Ian said.